Health Benefits of Drinking Yerba Mate

Yerba mate can be considered a fountain of nutrients as this traditional South American beverage contains practically all the vitamins necessary to sustain a healthy life. Yerba mate has become a popular choice in health food stores as it is a good source of not only vitamins but also minerals, and nutrients. Yerba mate contains vitamin A, C, E, B1, B2, B5, niacin (B3) as well as important minerals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, selenium, potassium, and phosphorus.

The interesting fact about yerba mate is that it’s often considered a tea and an herbal product but, technically, yerba mate is neither a tea nor an herb. Though the plant is called yerba in Spanish and erva in Portuguese, (both mean herb in English), it is a tree and not an herbaceous plant. It is native to subtropical South America in northeastern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.It was first used and cultivated by the Guaraní people, and also in Tupí communities in southern Brazil, prior to the European colonization. The mate plant leaves contain caffeine and yerba mate beverages can promote a boost of energy. However, yerba mate is much more than an energy enhancer. Studies have shown that yerba mate can help regulate cholesterol levels, increasing HDL and reducing LDL. Researchers believe that drinking yerba mate infusions may also reduce the risk for cardiovascular diseases.

Yerba mate can be considered one of the healthiest plants as researchers have concluded that it’s difficult to find a plant which can match mate’s nutritional value. Mate is more nutritious than green tea and studies have shown that mate can edge all the commonly used stimulants such as coffee,green tea, kola nut, cocoa and guarana, as it delivers more energy and nutrition.

This entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 20th, 2013 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Herbs, Teas.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.